MUMBAI: The Indian Film Company (IFC), a specialist film investment firm where TV18 Group has substantial interest, is planning to invest Rs 1.5 billion on various film projects over six months.

"The pipeline for deployment in the last quarter of fiscal 2008 and first quarter of FY 2009 is expected to be around Rs 1.5 billion," a source in the company tells Indiantelevision.com.

IFC has invested Rs 1.05 billion on film projects and for signing of key directors, actors and writers in the third quarter of this fiscal. The total fund deployment of the company has been Rs 2.5 billion in cash and cash equivalents till December-end 2007, the source adds.

The future projects include Striker, a co-production with Chandan Arora’s Make Films which is expected to release by May 2008; Panduranga, the first regional language (Telugu) film that IFC has signed and is co-producting with K Raghavendra Rao; Bubblegum, a co-production with Paramhans and expected release date is October 2008; and “Production No 3” (tentatively titled) to be produced by Priti Sinha’s Reel Life Entertainment and released by first quarter of FY 2010.

IFC has released recent movies like Jab We Met and Welcome. IFC has also acquired the worldwide distribution rights of Singh is Kinng ( a comedy directed by Anees Bazmee and stars Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif) from Vipul Shah Productions and Golmaal Returns from Shree Ashtivinayak.

Network18 Fincap Ltd has 18.18 per cent stake in IFC and BK Media Mauritius Pvt Ltd 3.45 per cent. Raghav Bahl is a director of IFC and substantial shareholder of both Network 18 Fincap and BK Media Mauritius. Viacom Brand Solutions holds 4.55 per cent in the film company.